Five Is A Magic Number
by angel-death-dealer
Summary: It was just a game...five minutes...thats all. But then again, things are always more than they seem when things are on the verge of happening. Jate oneshot.


**This was a one-shot froma dyojs over at lost-forum when someone requested jate through games. **

The day was coming to a close, and still the survivors of Oceanic 815 were awake. After a dreadful end to their attempt at getting Walt back from the Others, which had resulted in Michael and Walt going off in search of rescue, and Jack, Kate, and Sawyer ending up captured, the survivors were back together and stronger than ever. Since returning from the Others's camp, a new found strength had also reformed between Jack and Kate. It was like 'the old days' as Claire liked to refer to them. They were always together now; laughing together, eating together, walking together; finally, something right was on the verge of happening.

To no surprise, Jack and Kate had spent most of the day together. When Jack tended to patients, Kate would go have some time to herself and would end up picking fruit, or taking some water down to the beach. With a lack of injuries to tend to that day, for which he was thankful, Jack had spent most of the day following Kate around whilst she threw fruit at him from the high branches for him to catch, or, as the sun had started to set, just stood sinking on the shoreline.

When dinner was all set, thanks to another food drop that had occured a few days ago from Dharma, Jack and Kate were called over by Claire, who told them to come and get some food before it all went. Of course, it was unlikely that this would happen, but still, Kate said something challenging to Jack, and the two raced each other up the where the rest of the camp were sitting. The friendly competitveness was back as well.

They had all eaten their fill, and as it got later, people started drifting off in small groups to their beds, or to small campfires. Still sitting by the main signal fire was Jack, Kate, Charlie, Hurley, Claire and Sawyer. Jack and Kate were sitting comfortably together, half leaning on each other whist they laughed about something unknown to the others, who just watched them, trying to figure out what they were talking about.

"I can't believe you!" Jack said, shaking his head.

"What?" She asked defensively. "I said that I did it. I never said that I was proud of it, or anything."

"Still..." He told her. "That's...terrible, Kate."

"And good boy doctor Jack has never done something like that, I'm sure." She assumed.

Jack went very quiet.

"Oh my god." Kate realised. "You have, haven't you?"

"Kate-" He went to answer, but she cut him off.

"You have!" She cried out.

"Not like I'm proud of it or anything." He shot back playfully, and they both laughed.

Sawyer had had enough by now. He just couldn't guess. "What the hell are you two talking about?" He asked tiredly.

Kate, quick on the mark, beat Jack to it. "Jack cheated on a girlfriend once." She told them.

"I was ten!" He explained.

Sawyer grinned, toasting in his direction with a bottle of Vodka he wasn't sharing. "Early starter. Clever man."

Jack shrugged. "It wasn't even my choice. We were on the playground, and this other girl kissed me as well." He explained simply. It sounded rather childish and pathetic now he looked back on it, but at the time, the boys he knew had praised him.

"While the other girl was there?" Kate questioned.

"Yeah." He admitted.

Kate broke down laughing, nudging his shoulder as she did so, but surprisingly, Jack didn't seem to mind. At the moment, Kate always seemed to be happy. It had been weeks since he had found her with a far-off look in her eyes, and he liked it like that.

"What about you, Freckles?" Sawyer asked, joining in their discussion. "You cheated on a girlfriend?"

Kate raised her eyebrow at him, not wanting to give in to Sawyer's sick fantasy. She could tell that he was hoping she'd slip up and say yes without thinking about it...or maybe he was hoping she'd say yes and mean it. Either way, she wasn't going to do it. "I've cheated on a _boy_friend once, yes." She confirmed, putting extra emphasis on the 'boy'.

"Who was the unlucky guy?" Sawyer asked.

She thought about sharing this story, and decided she might as well. After all, Jack had shared his story. "I was with this guy, but we weren't really getting on well at the time." She told them. "He wanted us to settle down, have kids, but I was only twenty. I wasn't ready for it."

"Aha." Sawyer declared. "An older man!"

"He was twenty five." She nodded. "But the guy I cheated on him with was my childhood sweetheart."

"Aawww bless!" Claire said sweetly.

Kate, however, shook her head. "It didn't have a happy ending though." She told them. "Hence...I am on an island in the middle of nowhere, with great friends, and a full stomach for the first in a long time." She said, gesturing around her and then patting her contempt stomach.

"Five years older?" Jack questioned. "That's a pretty big gap at that age."

"And how old are you, Jack?" She asked him curiously.

He bit his lip, bobbing his head around a bit. "Older than twenty five."

"Someone's in his forties." Sawyer teased in a sing-song voice.

"I am not in my forties." Jack shot back defensively.

"It's okay, Jack, there's nothing wrong with being in your forties." Charlie assured him, and there was a moments silence. "I'm sure Bernard remembers being in his forties."

Everyone cracked up laughing at this, and from laughing so hard, Kate literally fell into Jack's lap. She laughed longer than everyone else, and when she was done, she used his legs to straighten herself up, keeping one hand on each knee to steady herself.

"C'mon, seriously, how old are you?" She asked him, her eyes still shining with laughter.

Jack shrugged. "It's not a big deal or anything."

"I'll tell, if you tell." She compromised, but he shook his head.

"I already know that you're twenty seven though, so that serves no purpose at all." He said, spoiling her plan.

"At this rate we'll be throwing her the big three-oh on this island." Sawyer pointed out, but his comment went unnoticed.

"Please?" She pouted.

"It's just a number." He pointed out.

"A number I want to know." She countered.

"Isn't that his phone number?" Sawyer questioned. Kate whipped her head around and glared at him. Even though the pair had become the best of friends recently, the topic of a relationship was strickly forbidden in conversation. "Oh, yeah, there are no phones here..." He covered up. "...just coconuts connected by string..."

"Why do you want to know so much?" Jack asked her.

"To prove a point." She said, like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"Which point?"

"My point." Well...that was probably the most obvious answer in the world. Who elses point was she going to prove?

Jack looked at her, and realised that she still hadn't removed her hands from his knees, which meant that their faces were mere inches apart. He bit his lip, debating on his action, and leaned in closer to her. For that one moment, everyone else, Kate included, thought that he was going to kiss her, but he changed course, and leaned into her ear.

"Thirty two." He told her.

"See..." She said, recovering from thinking she was about to be kissed. "Point proved."

"What point?" He asked her.

"Five years." She nodded. "Not that big an age gap."

Of course, she was right, that there was five years between them, and now, it didn't seem like that big of an age gap. After all, it wasn't like it was twenty years or more, but it didn't apply to them the same. Mainly because they weren't in a relationship.

Hurley spoke up what they were all thinking. "Dude, were you gonna kiss her then?" He asked.

Shocked, Jack's head whipped around to look at the others, his face turning red and his eyes widening. "What!"

"You leaned in real close to her and everything." Hurley pointed out. "I thought you were going to kiss her."

"I thought so too." Claire nodded.

"Heck, even I did." Sawyer told them.

"He didn't." Kate confirmed for them, even though they had all seen it.

"People can lean in close and not kiss each other you know." Jack told them.

"Prove it!" Sawyer demanded.

"What?" Kate asked.

"Sit sideways so that we can see you, put your faces up close, and don't kiss each other for five minutes." Sawyer instructed them.

"I've got a watch." Charlie said, holding up his watch and looking at the face.

"That's ridiculous, Sawyer." Jack told him.

"Of course it is." He replied. "But you're not going to last."

Reluctantly, if only to prove the point against the Southerner, they got into the position of sitting opposite each other. They brought their faces so close that their forehead were brushing against each other. They stayed there for a moment before Kate turned her head sideways to look at Sawyer.

"Sawyer, this is stupid." She complained.

"No looking at me." He scolded her, shaking Mr Vodka Bottle at her. "Look into each others eyes."

Sighing, Kate turned back and looked directly into Jack's eyes. She was less than an inch away from the brown orbs that reminded her of chocolate. Not only were they the same colour, but they were also smooth and just as sweet looking. Jack, however, thought that Kate's eyes reminded him of the jungle behind them. The green colour was unmatched by any of the foliage in there, but they were just as wild and at the same time calm as the jungle itself.

"Five minutes on the clock." Charlie told them, pressing a button on the side of his watch that made a beeping sound.

"This is useless." Jack laughed.

"Think of it this way," Kate offered. "At least you won't forget my eye colour."

"Your eyes are always green. I know that." He said, a little too quickly. He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "I wonder if I can count your freckles in five minutes..."

"No, look into her eyes." Sawyer scolded again.

"You are getting very sleepy..." Kate mocked, and they both laughed, struggling to maintain eye contact. "I'm sorry, this is just so silly." She complained again.

"Do it, or we'll throw food at you." Charlie threatened them.

Sawyer turned to the others. "Maybe Jacko can help her remove said food with a certain body part used for eating..." He suggested.

"Not fair guys." Jack told them, acting calm whilst he fought to keep that particular image out of his head.

"Is it working?" Hurley asked.

"I don't think so." Sawyer said.

"Is what working?" Kate asked suspiciously.

"Four minutes to go." Charlie told them innocently.

"Are you plotting against us?" Jack asked them, when Kate didn't get her answer.

"They've been planning a way to make you guys get together." Claire revealed.

"Why?" Kate asked.

"Because you, like, belong together." Hurley told them.

Again, they both laughed, but they were still staring into each others eyes.

"Don't be so ridiculous." Kate brushed off.

"Plan B." Sawyer murmered.

Charlie nodded. "Remember that cave in?" He asked Jack.

"Yeah, it's pretty hard to forget a ton or more of rocks falling on you." He nodded.

"I hear you got one hell of a hug out of that." Sawyer teased.

Kate rolled her eyes. "I was worried about him. I was scared he was hurt." She told them.

"I was hurt." Jack told her. "I had a dislocated shoulder."

"I still can't believe you let me hug you like that when you were hurt." She said, shaking her head slightly.

"He wanted it." Sawyer jumped in.

"What about when Kate went hunting with Locke that time?" Hurley said. "And she came back and you had your hands all over her face?"

"She had a huge graze on her cheek. I had to make sure it wasn't infected." He explained innocently.

"How'd those doctors hands feel, Freckles?" Sawyer asked teasingly.

"Shut up, Sawyer." The pair chorused.

The others exchanged a glance...it was working.

"You were really big on the whole denial thing when I asked if you were going to move into a cave together." Hurley remembered.

"Simple reason, Kate hates the caves." Jack said quickly.

Sawyer arched his eyebrow. "That the only reason?"

"Yeah."

"Nothing to do with the fact that you wanted her there?"

Jack sighed, giving in. "I'll admit that I'd sleep better at night knowing that she's not traipsing through the jungle or getting into trouble."

"Easier said than done." Claire shook her head, remembering some of Kate's nighttime adventures.

She shrugged. "I'm a free spirit, me."

"Three minutes left." Charlie piped up.

Sawyer nodded at the others. It was time to break out the big guns. "What about that time where you kiss him, and then you ran away?" He asked.

Dead silence. Not a sound was heard except for the crackling of the fire. Everyone looked at Kate. Jack looked at Kate. He hadn't looked away from her in two minutes. Tears were starting to form in her eyes, but she held them back, still keeping his gaze even though she wanted to tear herself away from him and run. Sawyer saw the tears too, all of them did, reflecting the firelight. Sawyer grinned at the others, he knew that he had hit the spot with her.

Her voice broke slightly as she spoke. "How do you know about that?" She asked shakily.

"It don't matter." Sawyer said.

"That doesn't concern you, Sawyer." She said bluntly.

"Don't-" He started, but Kate quickly cut him off.

"I said 'no', Sawyer!" She snapped.

There was another silence. On the other side of their legs, that was hidden to the others, Jack picked up her limp hand and held it in his. Kate took a deep breath, finding that the only thing she was inhaling was the scent she knew to be Jack's. The silence was broken by Claire.

"Why did you run, Kate?" She asked softly, her voice curious and innocent.

Kate let out the breath she had been holding, and blinked, barely managing to hold in the tears when she did so. After that blink, Jack could see right through to vulnerable Kate he hadn't seen since the kiss they were talking about. "Because...it was the right thing to do." She answered.

Hurley looked confused. "Wouldn't the right thing to do be to kiss him again?"

"I'd only end up hurting him." Kate announced.

"Kate..." Jack whispered to her softly.

"All I've ever done in my life is hurt the people I'm close to." She told him, "And then they died. Mom died...Tom died..."

"I'm not dead, Kate. I'm still here." He assured her.

"They left me." She said, her tears finally escaping her and spilling onto her cheeks.

"I'm not going to leave you." He reassured her, still whispering gently to her.

"Finally, we're getting somewhere!" Sawyer said.

"Shut up, Sawyer!" The others hissed at him.

"I mean it, Kate." Jack continued, not paying attention to the others. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here. I'm staying here."

"I don't want you to get hurt." She said, choking on the lump forming in her throat.

"I won't." He said, shaking his head.

"I'll hurt you."

"You could never do that to me."

"They died." She repeated. "What if you die?" More tears came down her cheeks, but still, she didn't tear her eyes away from his. "You say you won't leave me, but you will, eventually."

"Hey listen to me." He told her, bringing his hand up to her cheek. He rested it there, his thumb gently caressing the skin that was there. "Kate...I'm never going to leave you on your own, okay?" He told her. "You think that the same thought doesn't run through my head every day? Every time someone screams my name, I'm terrified that you're the one that's hurt. Whenever you go into the jungle, I panic that you won't come back." He recomposed himself for a moment. "You see, the think is...one day, we'll all lose the people we love in our lives. It's part of life and hopefully it won't happen until we're grey and old...but I'm not ready for that. You know why?" She shook her head. "Because the person I love most in the world is sitting right in front of me, and I'm not ready to lose her yet." She bit her lip. "I love you, Kate."

Charlie looked at his watch, and murmered to the others. "Five minutes are up."

Claire shook her head. "Leave them be. They need this."

"Me?" Kate questioned.

"You." He said surely.

"The person you love most?"

"More than anything."

"Are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure about anything."

"You love me?"

"I love you, Kate." He smiled at her. "How many times do I need to say it?"

Finally, she gave him a gentle smile, the one that had been on her face earlier. "Once more would be nice."

He grinned back at her. "I love you." He told her, just like she wanted to hear. "You, and only you."

"There's something that I should tell you then." She told him, her eyes wandering briefly before finding their way back to his.

"What's that?" He asked her.

"I'm not sorry that I kissed you." She said, remembering the fireside conversation. "I'm just sorry that I ran away."

He shook his head, caressing her cheek again. "It doesn't matter." He assured her. "You're not getting away from me this time."

And with that, he leaned forward, closing the miniscule gap between then and placing his lips on her own. The kiss was soft at first, but when it deepened and they began to get lost in themselves, an applause broke them apart. The looked to their side to see everyone who was still awake clapping at them. Grinning sheepishly, they kissed gently again before curling up together beside the fire.

From that night on, they were always together; eating together, laughing together, waking together, and loving together.

Something had been on the verge of happening for a very long time, and now that it had happened, things were very right on the island.


End file.
